Fire door



R. W. KAUCHER AND J. W. BARR.

FIYBE DOOR.

APPLICATION FILED JULYZB, 1920.

1,425,973, Patented Aug. 15, 1922.

barren srarss raran'r re ns;

RICHAB-D W. KAUCHEB, 0F READING, AND JOHN WALTER BARR,

' PENNSYLVANIA.

FIRE noon.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, RICHARD W. KAUOHER and JOHN lVALrnn BARR, citizens of the United States, residing at Reading, in the county of Berks and State of Pennsylvania, and Sinking Spring, in the county of Berks and State of Pennsylvania, re-

spectively, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fire Doors, of which the following is a specification. I

This invention relates to fire *doors and operating mechanism for same, and particularly to fire doors for use with locomotives, or in connection with other fire boxes where there is a source of pressure supply convenient.

It is well recognized that considerable difficulty is encountered by firemen, and locomotive firemen in particular, in operating the fire door to shovel in coal, because both hands of the fireman are needed for the manipulation of his shovel, and it is desirable that the fire door be kept closed under ordinary conditions as much as possible. It will be seen that when the fireman has to open the door by hand to shovel in the coal, he will not be apt to close it after each shovelful, but will allow it to remain open until he. has completed stoking, anditis one of the objects of this invention to provide a fire door which may beopened by pressure of the firemans foot upon an appropriatelever, and which will automatically close upon removal of his foot from such lever, thus leaving both hands free to manipulate his shovel. I

Another object of the invention is to provide a fire door having power-operated means with manually operable means, such manually operable means capable of manipulation independently of the power-operated means and including a latch mechanism for holding the door in open position when desired.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a mechanically or manually operated fire door of such rugged construction and so simple in its mode of operation as to be capable of withstanding the rough treatment to which it is almost certain to be subjected in use. i

Another object of the invention is to provide a power operated door with means for cushioning its opening and closingv move- 1920. Serial No. 399,515.

ments to prevent slamming and consequent probable.1n ur-y. The inventlon consists in a fire doorpro-v or siimmesrnnyc,

Specification. of Letters Patent. Patgnfed g, I Application filed. July 28,

vided with a mountingordoor-frame adapt-2 s ed to be positionedover the fire door open ing of the boiler fire box, this mounti'ng being provided with stops for properly positioning the doorv when closed, and having bosses to which maybe attached'theoperating parts of the door, asvwill be hereinafter described, a door mounted: for oscillatory movement from closed to open position and vice versa, power operated means foropening and closingsaid" door, and manually operable means including alatch member for opening SitlCl door and holding it-,-in*open positlon, sa d latch member so arrangedas to be inoperative whenthe door is actuated by the power mechanism, all as We: will proceed now to explain and finally claim.

In the accompanying drawings illustrat-v ing the invention, in the several figuresof which like parts are similarly; designated, Figure 1 is a front elevationand'partial section of the door and its mounting and operating mechanism, and 1 showing in dotted lines the full open position of the door when operated by hand and-when; operated by the power mechanism, respectively. Fig. 2 is adetail central longitudi nal section through the power cylinder, taken in a planeat right anglesto that in which the section in Fig. 1 is-taken. Fig. 3 isa section taken in the plane of line,.3 3, Fig. ,1, showing the latch mechanism. Fig. a is a side elevation ofthe control valve and its actuating .1ever.z, Fig. 5 is a section taken in the plane of line ,5 5 of Fig. 4.,

Referring more particularly to the'drawings, we provide mounting or'door-frame 1, having elongated bolt openings 2 through which, vpass the bolts for attaching the mountingor door-frame to'the. boiler backhead, and; this door-frame is provided with an ofi'standing lip 3 and astop and .a boss 5,.provided with a seat 6 to which is attached the power cylinder,- later described;

and a bearing-face i, towhich is attached the projection 8 of the door,9 bywmeans of a suitable pivot bolt and nut 10 and 11, re spectively. This-manner of mounting-the door permits of its oscillation from closed. to open position andsvice versa aoross,,-the face of the door-frame. 5

' member 12 to the back of which is attached a suitable counterweight 13 provided with a cut-out portion l l, the weight being connected with member 12 by means of a bolt and nut 15 and 16, respectively, whereby the weight may be rotated in order to ad-.

just its cut-out portion to provide a proper counterbalancing for the door.

It will be understood that the door is of the usual type having a front-plate 17 and a back-plate '18, the two being strengthened and alined by means of posts 19, and both plates being provided with ventilating perforations-2O and a peep-hole 21.

Mounted upon the seat 6 is the power cylinder '22, as described, provided with a piston 23 having a concentric longitudinal extension 24 slidably fitted 'in a guide 25 of the cylinder, and this extension is provided with an elongated socket chamber 26 in which fits the ball-shaped end 27 of a connecting link 28, the other end of which is socketed in and pivoted to thefire door by means of a socket 29 and a bolt 30 passing therethrough and through the end of the link 28. It will thus be, seen that the connecting link 28 is fixed to the door but is free to slide in the elongated socket chamber 26. Pivoted between ears 31 on the face of the door by means of a pin 82 is a combination handle and latch mechanism 33. one end 34 of which is turned inwardly and passes through an enlarged opening 35 in the door with a loose fit, the extremity of this end being cut oil at an incline tor a purpose hereinafter explained. The inward motion of this end is limited by the stop 86 which abuts against the face of the door, all of which is clearly shown in Fig. It will be understood that when the door is operated by hand the latch will be grasped and the door raised to positionA, shown in dotted lines. and this raising will cause the inclined end of the latch to ride over the inclined face 37 of the door-frame and snap into the socket 38 adjacent thereto. whereby the door is *held in its open. position.

The cylinder 22 is provided with a com bination inlet and exhaust port 89 formed with a plurality of openings alined longitudinally of the cylinder and graduated as to size, and to this port is connected a pipe 40 which runs to a port ll of the'control valve mechanism 42. This control valve mechanism comprises a casing provided with a central bore .43, having inlet and exhaust valve seats .44; and at its opposite ends, and in this bore are positioned an inlet valve and an exhaust valve 4:6 and 4:7, adapted to coact, respectively, with the seats above mentioned, these valves being provided with finned extensions 69, 70, as shown, whereby the passage of air through the bore is per-' mitted. The inlet valve 46 has an extension 41-18 slidably mounted in a cap 49 which closes the end of the valve-casing, and this cap is provided with a vent-hole 50 which prevents the trappingof air behind the exten sion &8. The valve 46 is normally held to its seatby means of a spring 51, as'shown.

The exhaust valve a7 is provided with a stem 52 passing through a cap 53, its end contacting with an adjustable threaded pin 54; mounted in one end of a lever 55 pivoted at 56 to arms 5'1 formed on the valve-casing, the other end of this lever being provided with a pedal 58 by which the fireman may operatethe valve by the pressure of his foot thereon. the lower extremity of the valve-casing are provided a plurality of ex-" haust ducts 59 communicating with the valve-chamber 60, and the upper portion of the valve-casing is provided with an inlet opening 61 communicating with a valvechamber 62 and adapted to be connected with a suitable source of air or the like under pressure, by means of a pipe 63. hen the device of the invention is used with locomotives, the pipe 63- may be and preferably is connected with the main air pressure tank.

Referring to 2, it will be seen that the cylinder 22 is provided at its end 64; with a plug 65 having formed therein a plurality of longitudinally alined vents hereinafter more particularly referred to.

In operating the fire door by means of the power operated mechanism, it will be seen that toot pressure upon the pedal 58 will elevate the end of the lever 55 which carries the pin 5% and cause this pin to raise the stem 52 of the exhaust valve a7 and-seat the exhaust valve, at the same time through the cooperation of the finned extensions of the valves raising the inlet valve 46 oil of its seat against the pressure of the spring 51 and allowing air to enter the chamber 62 through pipe 68 and pass by the valve 46 and through the port 4-1 and pipe 40 into the cylinder 22 through the openings of the port 39, whereby the piston is moved forward in the cylinder to its extreme outward position as shown in dotted lines, thereby acting upon the connecting link 28 to oscillate the door 9 upon its pivot 10 to the open position shown in dotted lines at B. By reference to Fig. 2, it will be seen that the openings in the plug 65 are graduated as to size in such manner that the air trapped in that end of the cylinder as the piston moves outward will escape rapidly through the first opening, with less rapidity through the second opening, and very slowly through the last opening, whereby the movement of the piston at the extreme end of its outward stroke is materially cushioned by the trapped air, and the slamming open of the door is prevented.

When the pedal 58 is relieved of the pressure of the operators foot, the spring 51 will force the inlet valve 4t6 to its seat and through the finned extensions of the valves will open the exhaust valve 47, thereby allowing the air in the rear end of the cylin; der 22 to escape through the graduated openings of the port 39 first rapidly and then slowly, substantially inthe same manner as that described with reference to the openings in the plug 65, and through the pipe 40, port ll, bore a3 and exhaust ports 59 to the atmosphere, thus allowing the door to close, its closing being cushioned in the same manner as its opening, as described.

I The door in its completely closed position will abut against the stop 4 and its notch 66 will abut against the side of the lip 3, the edge of the lip projecting outside of the door and preventing any movement of same away from the door-frame.

As hereinbefore pointed out, it will'be seen that the power operated mechanism does not open the door to such an extent as to cause the latch member 38 to engage its seat 38, and hence the mere releasing of the lever will allow the door to close When the door is operated by hand, it will be apparent from the construction shown that the operator need not exert any more force upon the door than that which is absolutely necessary to overcome its counterbalanced weight, for the reason that the ballshaped end 27 of the connecting link 28 is free to slide outwardly in the socket cham' ber 26 whereby the manual moving of any of the power-operated parts is unnecessary.

The device may be provided with a suitable oil hole 67 by means of which oil may be conducted to the pivot of the door, and as is customary, the piston 23 may be provided with the usual piston rings 68.

It is to be understood that we do not consider our invention as limited to the specific details of construction and arrangement of parts herein shown and described, as it is obvious that various changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the following claims.

What we claim is:

1. In a fire door, a door-frame, a door pivotally mounted thereon, means connected with said door and operable to open the same, means on said frame for limiting the closing movement of said door, and additional means on said frame for holding said door, a door-frame, a door pivotally mounted thereon, means connected with said door and operable to open the same, means on said. framefor limiting. the closing .movement of said'door, and additional means on said frame for holding said door in contact with said frame when in closed position and forming an additional v stop for said door.

. A fire door comprising a door frame having an opening, a closure member for said opening pivoted adjacent thereto, a catchupon said frame, a latch carried by said closure adapted to coact with said catch when said closure is manually moved to substantially the extent of its travel and power operated means limited toopening said closure to a position short of operation of said latch.

4:. In a fire door, a pivot, a door mounted thereon for oscillating movement, power operated means for oscillating said door upon its pivot from closed to open position, said means including a cylinder, a piston mounted therein and provided with a socketed extension and a link pivoted to said door and extending into said socketed extension, and manually operable means for oscillating said door, the link'during man-H ual operation of the door sliding freely in said socketed extension independentlyv of said piston.

5. A fire door comprising, in combination a pivot, a door mounted thereon for oscillat-. I

ing movement, power operated means for operating said door on its pivot from closed to open position, said means including a cylinder, a piston mounted therein, a linlr pivoted to said door and having a portion abutting against said piston and freely movable therefrom in one direction, means for guiding the movement of said portion from and to its abutting engagement with said piston, manually operable means for oscillating said door, the link during manual operation of the door moving freely under direction of the guiding means independently of the piston.

In testimony whereof we aflix our signatures in the presence of two witnesses.

RICHARD W. KAUCHER.

JOHN WALTER BARR.

Witnesses: i

. HARRY D. SIDEL,

HENRY M. Sorinoiinnn. 

